Ali Al-Mosa, writing in the pages of the Arabic daily Al-Watan (here translated by Arab News), tells Saudis that they shouldn’t be so full of themselves. A little humility might be in order given the level of alcohol and drug abuse in the country, he says. While it may feel comfortable to deny reality, like an ostrich with its head in the sand, it does nothing to deal with the real world in which Saudis must live. It’s time to shed the ‘holier than thou’ attitude.
We live in Utopia
Ali Al-Mosa | Al-WatanWe are not a society of angels, but if you listen to our talk without seeing the reality you would think we live in Utopia. Only blind people can believe the existence of such a place.
Whoever wants evidence that we are not living in Utopia should visit any of our police stations after midnight. You would see all kinds of people arrested for deviant behavior, including drug use, liquor consumption, fornication and other crimes. Of course this is not our reality, but it is, however, an indication of our present reality that we are trying to cover by what we call the “specialty of Saudi society.”
I would not be exaggerating if I said the production of liquor in our country surpasses the output of any regional liquor factory. Some of our overstaying brothers from Asia produce tons and tons of liquor for thousands of local consumers who buy the hooch by the liters. Imagine how much money the producers make.
The best and purest heroin targets our local market because of the abundant liquidity. You may be surprised when you come to know that a single smuggler was trading in 70 kilograms of heroin that would mix with several tons of other substances and sell in grams to those who sniff. Selling this large quantity in grams may give you an idea about the number of drug addicts in our society.
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January:14:2009 - 10:15
We like believing ourselves to be holy.
We like the frequent references to the Two Holy Mosques, and the imputation that because there are many holy sites, that we as individuals must be derivatively holy.
Self-flattery is a lamentable, but common, vice.
January:14:2009 - 10:15
Yes, there’s more than a little Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc thinking going on here. Because the holy sites are in Saudi Arabia, and I am a Saudi, therefore I must be holy. Never mind that the Kaaba was supposedly founded by Adam, or at least by Abraham…
January:14:2009 - 10:15
In many ways, the concept can be applied here, stateside. We’ve also a nationalistic pride, a holier than thou. We’ve often the idea of a divine providence in our forming as a nation and our carrying on as a people.
We’re not all that different – The US and Saudi Arabia. We’ve often the same egoism, holier than thou … could it be that we’re looking in the mirror really?
We put up facade and pretense to compensate, sometimes overly so, in order to put control to a situation we feel we’ve no control to resolve.
As a country, Saudi is a baby … look at us and our formation. We’re not so lofty either. Have we had our occasional dilettante in the lofty halls of Congress? Oh my goodness, that certainly tests the infinite range of numbers.
The poverty existing there, in a country that’s so rich? It’s no different than the poverty here, in our country that’s so rich.
The holy places? I think time will reveal just how much, and time, when it’s right, will open herself to us. But that could just be a dream in the night.
I’ve heard my share of wrangling words against Saudi Arabia, and too I’ve had my equal share of contention with her nationals. But at the same time, they’re not so very different from us, from me. Impetuous, frustrating, fun-loving, deeply rooted, but can leave everything behind, passionate, sincere, child-like, and wise beyond their years. It doesn’t come from hate, it comes from love … in many cases. And what I’ve learned is much. I think …
What is it? Nothing … and everything.
That’s Saudi … and in many ways the region. That’s also America. We’re not so different, we’re all in it together.